Walmart Unveils Super Hero Augmented Reality App

Fans of “Marvel’s The Avengers,” prepare for game play! Beginning today, in advance of the film release of “Marvel’s The Avengers”on May 4, only Walmart customers will have access to the Super Hero Augmented Reality (AR) game featuring their favoriteAvengers,including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow. This new “Super Hero AR” app is available now for download at the iTunes App Store and Android Market. Once downloaded, customers have instant access to Hawkeye, and only from the aisles of their local Walmart stores, customers can then “unlock” the super powers of the five remaining Avengers and ultimately save the world.

“Walmart is bringing this summer’s most anticipated blockbuster into stores through a first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience which bridges the gap between the physical store and mobile gaming,” said Seong Ohm, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for entertainment, Walmart U.S. “We’re committed to creating engaging and fun experiences at Walmart, and we’ve tapped different areas of the store for movie fans to interact with the mobile app while shopping the more than 600 ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ merchandise available.”

With more than 100 million augmented reality-capable smartphones in operation today, Walmart is putting the devices to good use. Customers can use “Super Hero AR” in two modes, Game Mode and Photo Capture Mode. Here is how it works:

Game Mode: Collect All Six Super Powers and Save the World
-Download the “Super Hero AR” App from the iTunes App Store or Android Market that also includes instant access to Hawkeye and his super powers
-Visit a local Walmart with your enabled smart device
-Seek out specific images on “Marvel’s The Avengers” signage located in various departments around the store including apparel, grocery, toys and wireless
-Aim your smart devices at the target image to unlock each super hero’s power
-Collect the powers of the five remaining Avengers and get a chance to defeat Loki and win the game

Photo Capture Mode (available for iOS and Android): Take a Photo with Your Favorite Avenger
-Activate “photo capture mode” from a “Marvel’s The Avengers” DVD pallet in-store; a 3-D model of the super hero depicted on the DVD pallet will become visible on your phone
-Take a photo with your favorite Avenger
-Share it with friends on Facebook or via email

“We are happy to have Walmart’s tremendous support behind the release of ‘Marvel’s the Avengers,'” said Mark Rhodes, senior vice president of North American Retail Development at Marvel Entertainment. “We are always looking for opportunities to develop unique retail programs with our partners and feel the Super Hero Augmented Reality app enables fans to extend both their shopping and movie experience in an interactive way.”

Fans that just can’t get enough will have another shot at bringing both Black Widow and Hawkeye to life. They can either visit www.walmart.com/TheAvengers and look for an image of Black Widow to bring her to life, or find a Hawkeye image in the April 29 Walmart newspaper circular and utilize the “Super Hero AR” app to activate the feature.

In addition, beginning on April 26, T-Mobile representatives will help customers navigate the terrain and unlock each super hero’s power, bringing them one step closer to defeating Loki, and saving the world in the final level of the game. In select stores, the grocery section will also offer shoppers food and beverage samples of Avengers-themed products such as Dr. Pepper, Red Baron Pizza and Hershey’s chocolate candies.

Join the Conversation on Twitter:

To celebrate The Avengers debut and the new Super Hero Augmented Reality mobile app, Walmart (@WalmartSpecials) has partnered with Marvel (@Agent_M) and other Marvel influencers to host an exclusive Twitter party for Avengers fans. The discussion will include Avengers trivia and sneak peeks at exclusive content from the app and movie. The party will take place this Thursday, April 26 at 2 p.m. EST and participants will be using the branded hashtag: #AvengersWMT.